Her family spent part of Thursday morning going over a treasure trove of photographs and telling stories about Kelle Lauree Clark.

She loved all sorts of music, especially folk. She was an avid snowboarder, snow skier and fly fisher. She loved swimming and soccer.

"She was at the happiest point in her life," said her mother, Allyn Van Hooser, 61, of Redding.

The 37-year-old was killed Sunday in a tragic accident at Lake Shasta when she was crushed by a rolling log. She'd been out on the lake with friends when they decided to dislodge a log from the top of an embankment to send it into the lake. It changed course as it rolled down, striking stumps and rocks and then Clark, sheriff's deputies have said.

Clark's mother, sister and daughter tried their best to avoid shedding tears as they reflected on her life Thursday. She wouldn't have wanted them to mourn her passing, they said.

Her life, as well as life itself, is something to celebrate, family members said. She'll forever be remembered for her zest of life and curly red hair — a bright and shining light who never stood still.

"She was the light of the city," Van Hooser said. "She loved people and people loved her."

A young Kelle Clark and her mother are shown in a photo during an outing at Stinson Beach.(Photo: Courtesy Allyn Van Hooser)

A native of Helena, Montana, Clark came to Redding in 1989. She was a 1999 Enterprise High School graduate and single mother who loved the great outdoors, said Van Hooser and Clark's 35-year-old sister, Cirby Manivang.

"She had to be outdoors," her mother said.

On Sunday, she'd simply wanted to see the log splash in the water, her mother said.

"It was just a crazy accident," Van Hooser said. "It was just for fun."

Sheriff's deputy Larry Fitch said Thursday the incident remains under investigation. Fitch, who has been a member of the sheriff's boating safety unit since 2009, said he's caught people rolling logs into Lake Shasta in the past.

"It's usually kids and teenagers," said Fitch, who was not working Sunday.

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Cirby Manivong admires photographs of her sister Thursday at the Redding home of their mother.(Photo: Jim Schultz/Record Searchlight)

Fitch could not recall a previous incident of log rolling involving adults. He warned that floating logs on the lake can pose a serious danger to unsuspecting boaters.

Clark's family said the outpouring of love that friends have shown in the days after her death has been a great comfort.

Clark was a popular waitress and server at Market Street Steakhouse for more than a decade. The restaurant is accepting donations for the family.

A GoFundMe also has been established in Clark's memory to raise money to help her 15-year-old daughter, Kelsey, pay off her mother's Subaru Forester, which she had purchased earlier this year.

The goal is $30,000, and any money left over in the account will be used to help pay for the teen's college education, according to the post. More than $21,100 had been raised as of Thursday afternoon.

An outdoor celebration of Clark's life is in the early planning stages and is expected to be held sometime in October in the Diestelhorst Bridge area.

Her stepfather, Michael Van Hooser, said it will not be a memorial.

"She wouldn't like that term," he said. "It's a celebration of her life."